1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of electrical connectors. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a high-integrity, electrical in-line wire connector for coupling a pair of wires with crimp type pin terminals or crimp type socket terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical equipment requires wiring to send and receive signals and power. Most wires connect directly to an output or an input source enabling the electrical equipment to operate. However, some wires are required to be connected and disconnected to other wires forming in-line wire junctions.
The in-line wire junctions of the type concerned are at present often used is in electronics and aviation circuitry where high integrity in terms of connectivity, consistency of electrical resistance and resistance to separation are critical. The wires must resist separation from the connector, but be separable using a conventional military type insertion/extraction tool. These connections include two wires, each terminating in a crimp type contact. The contacts have been provided as pin-type contacts or socket-type contacts. For each socket contact terminated wire, a separate retention clip is used as part of the in-line wire junction. The sockets have multiple longitudinally oriented, circumferentially spaced slits, which are biased to a smaller circumference than that of the pin contact. The slits are configured to engage the pin contact more tightly, but to be effective requires tight manufacturing tolerances. The tight tolerances increase the costs of making the socket contacts. Pin-type contacts are also provided, but may shift in use to provide unacceptable variations in electrical connectivity with consequent and unacceptable deviations in electrical resistance.
A further problem with the standard in-line wire junction is the lack of a good hard splice. Any axial movement causes changes in resistance, which can lead to low current situations. If the in-line wire junction operatively connects the prime mover of an aircraft landing gear to the switch signaling the mover to actuate, a poor splice can result in electrical failure as small variations in current in low current signaling systems may result in a failure to lower or raise the landing gear. To get a solid splice connecting the two wires, it is necessary to solder the wires together, but this makes disassembly very difficult without cutting the wires.
There has thus developed a need for a simple, lightweight and economical connector which provides a high level of electrical integrity, is resistant to separation and permits selective separation of the connected wire terminals from the connector using a standard insertion/extraction tool.